I keep thinking about the slow pulse of the earth during these winter Kingston days, which make me want to live off soup and tea until the sun comes out again. Almost everything has slowed down. The flora and fauna are dormant, tucked away, nestled in their slumbers. But not me. I am trying to do everything all at once.
It’s easy to fall into that trip, right? You tuck yourself into a spiral of studying and classes and working and moving through the motions of life. Sometimes my mind feels like this chaotic jumble of to-do lists and scheduling, grocery lists, and making plans for coffee dates.
Life is full right now. It is vibrant and expansive and stunning and a little bit overwhelming. It is very, very full.
It’s so easy to tip past the point of life feeling full. You can wake up feeling like you might explode if somebody asks you to write another report, draft another essay, or study for another assessment. That is okay. It’s human. It’s normal. I’m trying, and I know you are too, not to be swallowed by a black hole of doom-scrolling or feeling married to Google Calendar.
But the busy days sometimes happen. They are the days of rigorous, wholehearted effort. They take me to the library, munching on granola bars and laughing about the delusions of the poets I read about in class with my friends. They take me to the happy-tired walk home after a long day of typing and stepping in the direction of my dreams. They take me to the waters of Lake Ontario, slow and grounded but awash in a sense of exhalation. They take me to the sweet people of the Accommodations Officers, who carve out space for my ADHD brain to have the opportunity for accessible options for midterm writing. They take me to the aisle of the grocery store where there are so many variations of tea I could brew enough for the entire student population (and what is a better balm of happiness on hard days than a cup of tea?).
I want to share a few little nuggets of wisdom that I’ve slowly accumulated, like the squirrels tucking nuts into the snow of my backyard (but unlike the squirrels, I remember them!). These are my lifesaver tips. They have helped me slow down when I start feeling harried and overwhelmed. I hope they might be useful for you too.
1. The summaries at the end of each chapter of my textbook.
Sometimes, especially when most of your degree involves extensive amounts of reading, trying to peruse every single page of a textbook is not sustainable. When this happens, I find that it’s easy to assume an “all-or-nothing” posture and decide that, if I cannot read an entire fifty-page chapter, I can’t read it at all. What I have found incredibly helpful to combat this is to, at the very least, read the summary of the chapter in its final pages and jot down some points that consolidate the information in my own words. In this way, I don’t go into lectures as blind as I would if I hadn’t done any readings, but I also can still allocate enough time to whatever is more pressing in the moment. A little can go a long way!
2. Eating lunch (featuring avocados and everything bagel seasoning).
Avocados and everything bagel seasoning might be what has sustained me this semester. For those of us who are not living in dorms or on meal plans anymore, sometimes trying to decide what you’re supposed to eat for lunch while you are in between classes or meetings feels daunting. Sometimes, it feels easier to just forget lunch and eat a lot of granola bars. If you are this person too, I promise that I get a lot more work done and my brain feels a lot clearer when I have something filling and green to eat for lunch. All it takes is 10 minutes to make and eat something healthy. (Hot tip: everything bagel seasoning is at almost every grocery store and it makes avocado toast feel classy.) If avocado toast is not your thing, I highly recommend making a little list to stick on your fridge or notes app of filling, easy lunches you can make on the fly. You could even try meal prepping, making a big batch of soup, salad, or roast veg once a week so you always have something to hand. Food is fuel—and the right food helps me feel focused and clear-headed during the day.
3. Audiobooks.
In one of my favourite classes this semester, we are reading Middlemarch, a book that has a surprisingly modern air for something written in the late 1800s. I love this book and I love most of the literature I read in school these days. But before continuing, I must confess that I am a huge proponent of the tactile experience of reading a paper copy of a book. There’s something nostalgic about turning the pages over in anticipation of what the next page could bring. It takes me back to the hours I would spend as a little kid, reading past my bedtime. That aside, one thing that has helped me use my time more efficiently has been meal prepping (or chopping and washing all my fruits and veggies for the week) while listening to an audiobook version of Middlemarch. As much as I love the tactile experience of reading, when it is not something I have space for in my schedule, audiobooks are a great tool. It also just feels grounding to do two beneficial things at once. Plus listening to books is incredibly relaxing. Who knew school could relax you?!
I am wishing you more opportunities to slow down and find grounding. I am proud of us for growing and learning in this complicated and expansive academic adventure of ours.
Until next time,
Hannah